


Here With Me

by Tangerine



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22581235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tangerine/pseuds/Tangerine
Summary: An unexpected fight doesn't go exactly as planned, and Hak and Jae-ha find themselves trapped together in a cave.
Relationships: Jae-Ha/Son Hak
Comments: 4
Kudos: 125
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Here With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Puimoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puimoo/gifts).



"Stop it," Hak muttered, reaching out to push away the irritation, but his arm met with resistance. He snapped instantly awake, ready to blame Jae-ha for teasing him in his sleep. That would have been nothing new, unfortunately, which was one of the many reasons why Hak tried – and usually failed – to keep distance between them at night, but Jae-ha was slumped over and obviously unconscious. 

_Innocent this time_ , Hak thought, surveying his surroundings through the damp fringe of his hair. 

He frowning at the water that continued to drip on his face. 

He noticed three things simultaneously: his entire body hurt but his head worst of all, both of his arms were chained to the wall, and there was a jagged rock pressing uncomfortably into his back. All equally aggravating, normally things that would stir him to action, but they were alone. Hak sighed deeply.

He remembered the fight. Neither he nor Jae-ha had ever been the type of man to ignore people in need... or the type to count the number of assailants before jumping in to help, unfortunately. Normally, the two of them against an army were pretty good odds, but it turned out even they had their limits. 

He hated losing. 

Hak shifted against the wall, ducking away from the steady trickle of water. He winced as his back caught a particularly sharp edge, but the pain wasn't any worse than everything else. He wanted to move away from it entirely, but the chains around his wrists kept his range of movement limited. 

He pulled at them. They didn't budge. 

And something was _still_ dripping on his face. Hak scowled. It annoyed him to discover it was his own blood. 

Hak wiped his forehead on his sleeve, leaving a smear of red on the blue fabric. Yoon would hate him for it, but he couldn't risk it getting into his eyes. The light was dim enough already, Jae-ha's green hair a muted grey and hanging over his face like a veil. They were in some sort of cave, Hak decided. 

Abandoned and left to rot, most likely, judging by the unsettling quiet and the lack of provisions.

Hak decided to think of it as a head start instead. Once he was free, he was going to settle things. He couldn't stomach letting people who'd show that sort of casual cruelty to strangers go free. It didn't sit right with him – never had, never would. And knowing Jae-ha, he'd be right there with him, grinning.

Hak glanced at Jae-ha again. He still hadn't woken up. 

Shifting in his bonds, Hak tested the distance of the chains. They'd been smart to attach the manacles to his wrists, just like they'd been smart to double-chain Jae-ha's leg. To a point anyway. They'd taken Jae-ha's boot and left his right foot bare and exposed. An angry Jae-ha was a vengeful one. It would serve them right, Hak thought, shuffling across the ground, using his legs to propel the rest of him forward.

It was inelegant and clumsy, exactly the sort of thing Jae-ha would tease him for, but it had to be done. The light had already begun to change. It would be a long night. A cold, dark, wet night. And Jae-ha... they were a long way from Hiryuu Castle, and he was clearly injured. Worse than Hak was anyway. 

Hak pressed his body against Jae-ha, offering what meagre heat he could, barely enough to count. An insane vision of wrapping his legs around Jae-ha's waist, using the only limbs he had full use of to move Jae-ha into a better position, popped into his head, and he felt a strange warmth pass over him, settling embarrassingly onto his cheeks. It was the head wound, he assured himself. That was all. 

Just from that brief movement, Hak was winded, exhaustion overtaking him. He didn't think anything was broken – and he knew without a doubt that nothing was fatal – but his body felt heavy and useless, and he'd taken several blows to his admittedly thick skull. But when Hak closed his eyes to rest and catch his breath, the image still swirled about in his head. Definitely the head wound, he decided.

He wiped his face on his sleeve again. 

Time passed. Seconds or minutes or hours, he couldn't tell, except it was dark by the time Jae-ha jolted awake. Before Hak could say anything calming, Jae-ha's breathing moved from controlled to erratic. Hak could physically feel the force of Jae-ha's leg as it frantically pulled at the chains around it. The strength of it was impressive, more than Hak could ever hope for himself, though he'd never admit that. 

If the chains had snapped then, it would have solved most of their problems, but the metal stubbornly held.

"Stop making so much noise," Hak heard himself say in a rough, strange voice. "I have a headache." 

Jae-ha went still beside him. "Hak?"

"Who else?" he replied, leaning into Jae-ha a little more, making his presence fully known. It was easier to do in the dark, under the pretense of sharing his body heat. Jae-ha didn't relax exactly, but some of the fight went out of him. Better than nothing. "Are any of the other dragons close by?"

"Not yet," Jae-ha replied after a noticeable moment. He still didn't sound quite like himself, but neither did Hak. They were both in rough shape – Jae-ha more so – and Hak knew enough about Jae-ha to understand he wasn't a man who liked to be confined. "Someone will notice we're missing. Eventually."

"Eventually," Hak agreed. "If you hadn't made so much noise about enjoying the amenities of a city..."

"I was going to drag you with me," Jae-ha replied, a familiar warmth in his tone, almost teasing. That was more like Hak had expected, though he still bristled to hear it. "You liked it so much the first time, and if Kija hadn't gotten so close in Awa, who knows what adventures we might've enjoyed together?"

"You always get me into too much trouble," Hak grumbled, trying not to move when Jae-ha leaned into him. He was unable to completely hide his shiver. The temperature had dropped noticeably, the dark settled around them. Hak fervently hoped they really had been abandoned. He felt too exposed like this.

"You're hurt," Jae-ha said, head pressed to Hak's shoulder and presumably looking up at him from the way his breath tickled at Hak's throat. Jae-ha had never respected Hak's personal space, and Hak didn't know why he'd suddenly start now. It'd been like that from the beginning, when Hak had suddenly found himself surrounded by women and alcohol... and Jae-ha. Hak mostly just remembered his grin. 

"So are you," Hak replied, a beat too late, grateful he couldn't see the look on Jae-ha's face. "Worse than me."

Jae-ha made a sound of disbelief. "You're bleeding profusely, Thunder Beast. I can smell it."

"Head wound," Hak said dismissively, wishing Jae-ha would look away, hating that he could tell, even in the dark, exactly where Jae-ha was focussed. Hak had no idea if he saw anything. "Always looks worse than it is. You were unconscious longer than I was. Hours probably. I had light when I woke up."

When Jae-ha spoke again, his voice was serious, almost apologetic. "I'm too weak right now to..."

"The princess will rescue us," Hak assured him, cutting him off. The last thing he wanted was Jae-ha thinking about those chains around his leg again, dwelling on them and all the old demons that clung to them. "By lunchtime at the very least. Once she sees our mats empty, she'll lead the search party."

"She knows neither of us would ever miss breakfast willingly," Jae-ha agreed, light again, and Hak exhaled a breath he hadn't even known he was holding. Without warning, Jae-ha pulled back, his hand skittering over Hak's torso unexpectedly. Hak lurched away with a flinch, and Jae-ha laughed out loud. 

"What are you doing?" Hak croaked in that strange rough voice again. 

"Trying to figure out why you're sitting so awkwardly." His hand moved again, mercifully avoiding Hak's stomach area, and curled over the cuff around Hak's left wrist. "Ah," he said, his thumb brushing over Hak's palm as Hak struggled not to react, "that explains it. And who knew you were so ticklish?"

"I'm not ticklish," Hak muttered, face hot again. Head wound, he assured himself. It had to be that. 

"Whatever you say," Jae-ha replied with a warm hum. He shifted in the dark again, raising Hak's heckles immediately, but this time, when his arm snaked around Hak's torso, he merely settled an arm there. Hak made a faint noise as Jae-ha chuckled at him fondly. "Relax, Thunder Beast. It's cold, and it could be a very long night. It won't be as warm with just the two of us, but it's better than nothing."

"Just keep your hands to yourself."

"Of course I will," Jae-ha promised him, clearly not planning to do anything of the sort. 

They sat there for a while, silent. Hak was acutely aware of Jae-ha's hand against his side, fingers curled around to his back. Even through fabric, he could feel the heat of Jae-ha's touch. All of the dragons ran hot. He'd never admit it, but they were a comfort at night when the temperature dropped. 

Jae-ha was a comfort now, with the wet cold settling into Hak's already aching bones and his arms pulled awkwardly above him as he struggled to keep their bodies in contact. Jae-ha, as if sensing Hak's condition, tightened his grip on Hak's torso without saying anything. The very fact that Jae-ha wasn't using this unfortunate situation as another means of teasing Hak spoke to Jae-ha's state of mind. 

Hak tried to think of ways to make this better. But when the chains around Jae-ha's leg rattled for a third time, barely audible above the sound of their breathing, Hak blurted out the only thing that had come to mind: "I once got myself locked overnight in the armoury in the middle of winter."

Jae-ha perked up slightly. "Stealing?"

"I don't steal unless I have to and definitely _not_ from King Il."

"Then what?" 

"Admiring," Hak confessed, smiling at the memory despite himself. "I was visiting Hiryuu Castle, and King Il had received a gift from one of the kingdoms. Swords. A rarity, in light of the King's views. The Princess was forbidden from seeing the weapons, of course, so I waited until she was asleep..."

Jae-ha made a soft sound under his breath. "When you could lovingly caress them in private?"

Hak laughed, almost without meaning to. He smiled into the darkness. "Something like that."

"How old were you?"

"Old enough to know better," Hak assured him, and this time it was Jae-ha who laughed. "In the morning, once they realized I was missing, King Il gathered all the highest-ranking soldiers at the Castle. The Princess was in tears. They found me curled up in a suit armour three sizes too big, sleeping like a baby with the best of the swords cradled in my arms. It had been a very cold night." 

"I see how you treat that guandao of yours. I'm surprised you sleep alone now."

Hak snorted. "I haven't slept alone since the Princess and I escaped Hiryuu Castle."

"We're lucky to have so many bodies to share with now. The alternative is very lonely," Jae-ha murmured, pressing up closer to Hak. Jae-ha's chains jangled, a reminder of where they were and why they couldn't escape, so when Jae-ha added, "I bet you have a lot of stories," Hak started to talk. 

He talked all night. 

It should have annoyed him, exhausted him. He was a man whose actions spoke louder than words, but Jae-ha needed the distraction, and Hak felt compelled to give it. The hours, which had once felt infinite, began to shorten and pass quickly with each story Hak shared. He still felt the cold acutely, and if Jae-ha hadn't been there, a fire against his side, Hak thought the pain might have made him insensible. 

Instead, it was manageable. He thought, if their assailants came back, he'd at least be able to put up a fight, but they never returned, not that he thought they would. He hoped they enjoyed their head start. 

As the sun began to rise, light filled the cave in creeping increments. Hak looked over at Jae-ha, startled to find his face so close, eyes fixed on Hak's face. Jae-ha smiled guilelessly, and Hak almost smiled back before he caught himself. Jae-ha's fingers moved over his stomach, lightly, like feathers. 

Hak flinched again. 

"You can't deny it this time," Jae-ha said. "I've found the Thunder Beast's weakness. He's ticklish."

Hak shook his head stubbornly. "I'm not admitting anything."

"Don't worry," Jae-ha told him, tracing a lazy finger down the centre of Hak's chest, looking pleased with himself as Hak shivered at his touch, "I'll guard your secret. This one... and all of the others."

Hak swallowed loudly. "I don't have secrets."

"I know what it looks like when someone's thinking about kissing me."

"You couldn't even see my face until now," Hak replied with a scowl, feeling heat rise on his cheeks. 

"I wasn't talking about last night. I was talking about Awa," Jae-ha said, grinning as he pressed his hand flat on Hak's belly, his palm hot against Hak's skin. Hak's scowled deepened. He was no good at this... flirting, being flirted with. Perhaps things would have gone a certain way if they hadn't been interrupted in Port Awa, but they'd gone exactly how they needed to at the time. "But since you mentioned it..."

"We could be rescued at any moment," Hak pointed out, staring at Jae-ha's mouth helplessly. 

"True. I can feel Shin-ah," Jae-ha admitted, "but he's still far enough away that you could steal a kiss or two."

"I already told you. I don't steal if I don't have to."

"I know," Jae-ha replied, eyes fixed on Hak's, a teasing smile pulling at his lips. He was as infuriating as he was handsome, and it had always annoyed Hak that Jae-ha seemed to relish being both. Hak _hadn't_ spent the last few months thinking too hard about any of this – he'd been too busy trying to help the people of Kouka – but sometimes, in the quieter moments, it had crossed his mind. 

So he, as impulsive as ever, kissed Jae-ha. 

And Jae-ha, always eagerly at his side, kissed him back.


End file.
